NEWS

Wis. corrections wants minors out of adult prison

Nora G. Hertel
USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

MADISON - Minors convicted in adult court could spend the first years of their sentence in a juvenile facility, rather than a prison, if the state Department of Corrections gets its way.

Razor wire tops one of the fences at the Lincoln Hills School and Copper Lake School complex in rural Irma in 2013.

Corrections officials asked legislators to change the law that currently sends 16- and 17-year-olds with criminal sentences to adult prisons.

Dylan Yang appears for his preliminary hearing March 12, 2015, at the Marathon County Circuit Court in Wausau. Yang's trial began Monday. Dylan Yang appears for his preliminary hearing March 12, 2015, at the Marathon County Circuit Court in Wausau. Yang's trial began Monday.

The change would give young offenders age-appropriate treatment and align with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act, according to the department's budget request, which was submitted last month. The Prison Rape Elimination Act requires prison staff to house minors away from adults 18 and older.

Convicted teens, including Dylan Yang of Wausau, would be most affected by the proposal. A jury convicted Yang, 16, of first-degree reckless homicide in March for fatally stabbing 13-year-old Isaiah Powell in a February 2015 fight between two groups of boys. He faces up to 60 years in adult prison and will be sentenced Wednesday.

Holding minors in juvenile facilities — even those convicted as adults — makes common sense, said Michael Caldwell, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert on juvenile delinquency.

"Younger kids are hard to manage in an adult setting; there's plenty of research to support that," Caldwell said.

Keeping children out of adult institutions may satisfy advocates fighting for juvenile justice, too.

"This change would be consistent with state- and national-level advocacy for removing minors from adult prisons and providing them with age-appropriate services in juvenile facilities," states the Corrections budget request. "This change would give the department more options to appropriately house sentenced minors."

Lincoln Hills School for Boys is the subject of a federal investigation for a variety of possible crimes.

Minors incarcerated in the juvenile system and those under 16 sentenced to prison in the adult system now serve their time in Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls in Lincoln County. Those two centers, 30 miles north of Wausau, have been the site of scrutiny for the last year in light of reports of sexual assault, physical child abuse, intimidation and neglect.

There's new leadership in the Department of Corrections and at the juvenile centers, and the agency has asked for money to improve security staffing and nurses to administer medicine.

There are beds available in the juvenile centers for teens convicted as adults, Caldwell said. And juvenile offense rates are down nationally over the last 20 years, he said.

State Sen. Jerry Petrowski, R-Stettin, does not think Corrections' proposal will be controversial and expects it to survive the budget process, he said Thursday.

Jerry Petrowski

Petrowski has worked on a different policy to keep 17-year-olds who are first-time, non-violent offenders, in the juvenile system. The proposal fizzled in the past, but its supporters will make another pass, Petrowski said. Current state law directs all 17-year-olds to adult courts.

The proposal in the Corrections budget request would help the state follow federal laws, Petrowski said.

"I think it's a positive," Petrowski said. "I think this gives flexibility to Corrections in the placement of 16 and 17-year-olds.

Gov. Scott Walker's administration will consider budget proposals from Corrections and the state's other departments to develop a draft budget for 2017-19 and the Legislature will weigh in on that over many months next year.

Nora G. Hertel: nora.hertel@gannettwisconsin.com or 715-845-0665; on Twitter @nghertel